Blog Posts

“Scapes and Scope” in 3 Movements by curator jim ellsberry

9/22/2021

This current exhibition "Scapes and Scope – Visions of Land, Sea, and Urban Space" brings together a variety of artworks depicting land, sea, and urban settings. You will experience over 115 paintings by moving in and out of three distinct, yet related, displays in the Art Center’s gallery. The exhibit begins – and welcomes the viewer - in the first room.

Room 1 – Traditional

Here you leave behind the loud and busy outside, and you are invited to simply relax and enjoy beautifully rendered representations of scenery around us. In this room, land and sea paintings are done in traditional, representational styles. But you will also see hints of impressionism and contemporary painting mixed in.

“The Sea Cave and the Southern Shoreline” by Rick Humphrey, oil on canvas, 35 x 60 inches

A key painting here is by California artist Rick Humphrey. It depicts the southern side of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The view is looking south from what is today the Terranea Resort, once the same location for Marineland of the Pacific. Rick has a strong attachment to this area and is an advocate for preserving its remaining open spaces.

Room 2 – Contemporary

As you enter our second room, the paintings are not unfamiliar. Still representational, they bring much more of the “Urban” scape to our show. But viewers are also invited to imagine and “…see beyond the usual,” in the words of the great American painter Robert Henri.

A prominent part of this room is a painting by California artist Mark Beck. It’s an example of how art can make a strikingly bold statement. The painting is based on a landscape by the Hudson River School painter Asher Durand called “Kindred Spirits.” It is about crises in America, from climate to ethnic and racial disparities. In my view, it also offers hope that comes out of continued and heightened awareness.

“The Hike” by Mark Beck, oil on canvas, 50 x 62 inches

Room 3 – Modern Expressive

“Western Sky” by Susan Stone, oil on canvas, 48 x 48 inches

When standing in the second room, you can look into Room 3 where you are presented with the painting on the left. This work is by another California artist, Susan Stone. Although it reminds me of work that came out of the New York School (abstract expressionism), it also presents an imaginary scape of – in Stone’s words – "unfettered sky, land, and water." You might even say it is a depiction of time - sunrise to sunset. It’s a painting that reminds us to be joyful and aware of color and the beauty around us.

I hope this information will be helpful as you move throughout this exhibition we call “Scapes and Scope – Visions of Land, Sea, and Urban Space.” Most of all, I wish to thank the artists who have participated in the show. As well I wish to thank the outstanding staff of the Huntington Beach Art Center for all their hard work in helping make this happen.

- Jim Ellsberry

0 Comments

WATERCOLOR PAINTING WITH ARTIST COUNCIL MEMBER DON PIRCH

9/1/2021

0 Comments

"Franciscan Prayer Garden" 2021

Artist Council member Don Pirch is exhibiting in the upcoming Scapes and Scope Visions of the Land, Sea and Urban Space on view at the Huntington Beach Art Center September 18 - October 23. The artist shares some of his recent watercolors depicting Mission San Juan Capistrano in this intimate look at the artist's process and perspective.

The 2021 watercolor is a perspective view of the Franciscan Prayer Garden inside the mission. Don performed extensive research of the site, both online and in-person. Taking photos of the garden and sketching it by hand, the artist captures a sense of place in his rendering of the mission's building materials and foliage.

"I like the crispness, color variety and relative values of all the objects, says Pirch.

"I experimented with a variety of watercolor brush configurations, sizes, and brush shapes. All this to obtain the desired visual effect I need to emulate the observed site material conditions."

"Return of the Swallows" 2019

Architectural Detail. Masonry Arch. 2019

"This site is a gold mine for painting architectural features," according to Don. Two of the artist's recent artworks were selected for display in the Scapes and Scope juried exhibition. Please visit the exhibition online or in our galleries located in downtown Huntington Beach.

0 Comments

upcoming 'Scapes & Scope' exhibition aims to highlight a diversity of perspectives

7/20/2021

1 Comment

From the modernistic, surreal and evocative desert-scapes of Georgia Totto O’Keeffe, to the traditional, grand, and expansive scapes of Albert Bierstadt, historically the artistic interpretation of the land, sea, and urban space has been quite diverse.

‘Scapes and Scope’ aims to highlight this diversity by exhibiting modern and traditional pieces that both contrast and collaborate. We hope this broad array of contemporary work, pushes and stretches the boundaries of what the ‘scape’ truly is.

Georgia O'Keefe - Near Taos - 1929

ABSTRACT APPROACH
Artist Paul Klee began his foray into the scape by first experimenting with bold and pastel color. His approach was quite liberated and akin to that of a musical composition. ‘Joyful Mountain Landscape’ most certainly imbues these attributes. An abstract painting is immediately recognized yet upon further inspection, a scape comes forth in his angular shapes and wondrous play of tones.

Albert Bierstadt - Buffalo Hunt - 1860

Paul Klee - Joyful Mountain Landscape - 1929

Georgia O’Keeffe - Red and Orange Streak - 1919

Albert Bierstadt - Seal Rock - 1872

REPRESENTING THE SCAPE
The beauty of the land, sea, and urbanscape in art, lies in the verity of its expression and the viewer's absorption of it. One can most certainly see and feel the experience of O’Keeffe’s environment in her paintings. Much of her imaginative work is representative of a place or space but her dauntless nature sought to reach beyond and take the viewer into her internal vision.
Bierstadt also endeavored to represent the scape as he saw it, full of light and romanticism. His catalogue of the western American scape proclaimed the beauty and grandeur of the land and sea in great detail and depth. His inspired paintings touched on the ephemeral and the ‘true to life.'

THE URBANSCAPE
I have always enjoyed analyzing the night as a painter. The contrast of atmospheric density to synthetic lighting has allowed me to examine color and composition in a different way. There is quite an intimate and poetic aspect to the nocturne within the urban space as well. ‘Spark’ is an aerial piece that leaves much to the imagination. Loose areas of dark blues and greens can be seen melding and guiding the eye into lighter stretches and flickers of bright. There is much to be admired and traversed in the work of a great many contemporary painters within the urbanscape.

E.E. Jacks - Sparks, Aerial Nocturne - 2021

We look forward to showcasing the artistic exploration and varied expressions of the ‘scape’ in Scapes and Scope!

E.E. Jacks - Juror

“Scapes and Scope” in 3 Movements by curator jim ellsberry

WATERCOLOR PAINTING WITH ARTIST COUNCIL MEMBER DON PIRCH

upcoming 'Scapes & Scope' exhibition aims to highlight a diversity of perspectives

THE MuSe:
HBAC Blog

Archives

Categories

STAY CONNECTED: JOIN OUR MAILING LIST!

“Scapes and Scope” in 3 Movements by curator jim ellsberry

WATERCOLOR PAINTING WITH ARTIST COUNCIL MEMBER DON PIRCH

upcoming 'Scapes & Scope' exhibition aims to highlight a diversity of perspectives

THE MuSe:HBAC Blog

Archives

Categories

STAY CONNECTED: JOIN OUR MAILING LIST!

THE MuSe:
HBAC Blog